Stots, Mix Advance to Grand Prix Final; Liz Carmouche Retains at Bellator 289

Interim Bellator MMA bantamweight champion Raufeon Stots showed he could handle the grind of a notorious grinder.

A persistent jab and a balanced sprawl carried Stots to a split decision over Danny Sabatello in the Bellator 289 headliner on Friday at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where he successfully defended his title and punched his ticket to the final of the promotion’s $1 million bantamweight grand prix. Judge Douglas Crosby struck a 50-45 scorecard for Sabatello, while Eric Colon and Bryan Miner saw it 48-47 for Stots.

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Sabatello (13-2, 3-1 Bellator) secured multiple takedowns and piled up more than 10 minutes of control time but exacted little damage with his efforts. Stots (19-1, 7-0 Bellator) stayed patient on the feet, fed the American Top Team export a steady diet of jabs and mixed in the occasional combination. He also made Sabatello’s life difficult on the ground, refusing to concede positions and even threatening him with a kneebar in the second round. Stots surrendered a takedown with some three minutes left in the match but answered his adversary’s attempts to corral him with a volley of elbows to the head that drew blood.

Stots now moves on to the bantamweight grand prix final and a showdown with former King of the Cage champion Patrick Mix, who put Magomed Magomedov to sleep with a guillotine choke in the second round of their semifinal. Magomedov (19-3, 3-2 Bellator) lost his tenuous grip on reality 2:39 into Round 2.

Mix (17-1, 6-1 Bellator) pestered the Russian with a consistent jab, managed distance beautifully and countered takedowns by attacking the neck. Magomedov moved in on his legs in the second round, only to find himself hopelessly entangled in a guillotine. Mix calmly readjusted his hands as he grapevined the legs, tightened his squeeze and waited for the onetime Absolute Championship Berkut titleholder to go limp.

Magomedov, 30, had never before been finished.

In the co-main event, Liz Carmouche submitted Team Nogueira’s Juliana Velasquez with a second-round armbar to retain the undisputed Bellator women’s flyweight championship. Carmouche (18-7, 5-0 Bellator) drew the curtain 4:24 into Round 2, executing her third finish in as many appearances.

Velasquez (12-2, 7-2 Bellator) was essentially a non-factor. Carmouche crowded the Brazilian from the start, pairing a merciless clinch with foot stomps, knees to the legs and short punches. She took down and mounted Velasquez in the waning moments of the first round, then picked up where she left off in the second. With roughly 90 seconds remaining in the period, Carmouche executed another takedown, laced the legs and again achieved full mount. She eventually moved toward a topside triangle, isolated the arm and cranked until Velasquez gave into the pain and raised the white flag.

The 38-year-old Carmouche has rattled off five consecutive victories.

Finally, American Top Team’s Dalton Rosta kept his perfect professional record intact with a unanimous decision over former Sparta Fight League champion Anthony Adams in a three-round middleweight showcase. All three members of the cageside judiciary scored it the same: 30-27 for Rosta (8-0, 8-0 Bellator).

Adams (9-3, 1-1 Bellator) was competitive throughout but lacked the horsepower necessary to give his undefeated counterpart pause. Rosta grew emboldened as one round led into the next. He took down and mounted Adams in the second, then made his most significant strides in the third. There, Rosta walked down the Elevation Fight Team rep with power punches, sprawled on a desperation takedown attempt and progressed to the back with ground-and-pound. Adams returned to an upright position in the closing seconds, only to be met with a vicious right hook that floored him where he stood. Rosta might have finished it had he been afforded more time with which to work.

The 34-year-old Adams has alternated wins and losses across his past five appearances.

In other action, Ilara Joanne (11-6, 3-2 Bellator) was awarded a split decision—29-28, 28-29, 30-27—over Denise Kielholtz (6-5, 6-4 Bellator) in their three-round women’s flyweight confrontation; Jaleel Willis (16-4, 4-2 Bellator) took a unanimous decision from Kyle Crutchmer (9-2, 5-2 Bellator) in their three-round welterweight battle, drawing 30-27 marks from all three cageside judges; Cris Lencioni (10-3, 5-2 Bellator) scratched out a split decision—30-27, 28-29, 30-27—over Cody Law (6-2, 6-2 Bellator) in a three-round featherweight pairing; Christian Echols (3-2, 1-0 Bellator) cut down Pat Downey (1-1, 1-1 Bellator) with punches 2:27 into the first round of their middleweight encounter; Kai Kamaka III (10-5-1, 4-1 Bellator) put away Kevin Boehm (9-6, 0-2 Bellator) with punches 2:23 into the third round of their featherweight clash; Michael Lombardo (13-3, 2-1 Bellator) punched out Mark Lemminger (12-6, 2-5 Bellator) in the first round, closing the show 4:23 into their welterweight affair; and Cass Bell (6-2, 6-2 Bellator) eked out a split decision—29-28, 28-29, 29-28—over the heavily favored Jared Scoggins (10-3, 0-2 Bellator) in a three-round bantamweight tilt.